Ultra fast broadband project

Blackdowns to get fastest broadband in the UK

Believe it or not, Clayhidon is bang in the middle of a project to bring ultra-fast broadband to the Blackdown Hills. If it goes ahead you could download a movie in less than one minute or upload 200 holiday photos in under nine seconds.Gigaclear has announced plans to bring the best broadband speeds in the UK to local homes and businesses. If enough potential customers are willing to commit to buying their service, Gigaclear promise speeds up to 33 times faster than the UK average.

Residents currently enduring the slowest speeds in the country would see an astonishing improvement. The project could see 2,000 properties in the area connected to ultrafast broadband using 120 kilometres of underground fibres.Meanwhile, rural business owners could transform the way they work with faster broadband enabling them to increase business and cut costs without compromising on their location Parish and district councillors and officers and broadband campaigners have been invited to a briefing in Hemyock Parish Hall on 4 July to hear who Gigaclear are, what they do and how they do things before they start. “The project area comprises nearly 2000 properties, but we will need to assess the demand before we commit to building and investing in the area,” said marketing manager Anne-Liza Roux.“This meeting will allow us to introduce ourselves, gain some local knowledge in terms of how best to communicate within the area and to start the process of understanding local land ownership to help identify major landowners with a view to negotiating wayleaves to install the ‘trunk’ fibres along the edges of private land rather than in the highway to reduce local traffic disruption, speed the deployment and reduce the build cost."

Gigaclear is recruiting locally and says it aims to use local contractors wherever possible during construction.Over the coming months, Gigaclear will start to roll out its service across a number of villages in the Blackdown Hills area including Upottery, Hemyock and Kittisford.Local MP Neil Parish is supporting the scheme. Councillor Andrew Leadbetter, cabinet member for Economy and Growth for Devon County Council said: “This is fantastic news for residents and it’s a demonstration of the kinds of investment and community involvement we want to see more of in Devon and Somerset. Many people work from home across Devon and Somerset and an excellent internet connection is vital to the growth of the local economy.” Residents and business owners can now sign up to Gigaclear’s service, not paying a penny until the service is connected and working in their property. Find out more about Gigaclear’s service at www.gigaclear.com